Best New Home/Modern

Chic furnishings and high-end amenities are a reminder that although close to nature, you are not roughing it.
Photograph by Brian Vanden Brink; styling by Janice Dunwoody

Best New Home/Modern

Rose and Ron Dennis had specific goals for their Trenton, Maine, home when they approached William M. Hanley at A4 Architects in Bar Harbor: uninterrupted ocean views, low maintenance, privacy, and energy efficiency.

“Ron and Rose had a mature understanding of Modernism, and that drove a lot of the initial design,” says Hanley, the project architect. “We could have created a blob that was sinuous and undefined and flowing, but that wasn’t what they communicated. They like corners instead of curves.”

The rectangular motif continues inside, but with a softer feel, owing to the warm, natural materials in flooring, cabinetry, and case goods made from clear, select ash, furthering the connection to the site, says Hanley. (Ash trees grow on the property.)

One fortunate and initially unforeseen feature is how surrounding trees’ shadows play on the house. “We started noticing that during construction. The sun is so low in winter, and there are a lot of mature trees on the property. Elongated shadows began raking across the elevations,” says Hanley.